Hearing devices are typically small ear-level devices used to improve the hearing capability of the hearing impaired people. This is achieved by picking up the surrounding sound with a microphone of a hearing device, processing the microphone signal thereby taking into account the hearing impairment of the user of the hearing device and providing the processed sound signal into an ear canal of the user via a miniature loudspeaker, commonly referred to as a receiver. One of hearing device types is the so-called in the ear hearing device to be worn inside the ear canal of the user. This hearing device comprises a hearing device shell formed and shaped such to conform to the ear canal geometry of the respective user or rather customer. The hearing device shell accommodates components of the hearing device comprising a processor, a battery, at least one microphone, a receiver, a sensor and an antenna, for example. A faceplate is typically used in order to terminate the hearing device shell to the outer environment. Typically, the faceplate is provided with the at least one microphone, a battery door used to replace the battery or to allow for maintenance, etc. but many further components as well. The positioning of components to each other such to allow for proper distances and orientation or rather alignment to each other is difficult. Hence, interferences to each other is a problem.
Document WO 02/078233 proposes to position and support a plurality of components to the inner surface of a faceplate of a hearing device. This technique disadvantageously requires a large faceplate in order to accommodate the plurality of components. However, the increase size of the faceplate contradicts efforts to reduce the scale of hearing devices. Said document further proposes to mount a receiver to a hole of a sound output via a wax filter. However, mounting the receiver to the sound output hole via the wax filter delimits positioning degree of freedom of the receiver inside the shell.
Document U.S. Pat. No. 8,180,085 proposes to use posts or breakable bars in order to keep floating components in place during manufacturing. The spacers can be used to position components, for example components adjacent to each other, in a fixed relationship. However, such spacers are confined to respective functions and are delimited to respective properties or rather characteristics, size, etc. Known techniques require increased number of additional means for the positioning of the components, which renders the known techniques costly, complex and time consuming, at least in the course of manufacturing.
The requirement for customization is especially true for individual geometry of each ear canal. Due to the individual (customized) nature of hearing devices, known techniques propose to position and mount or rather fix a plurality of components to the faceplate. However, this results to the faceplate increases in size. Further, volume inside the hearing device shell remains unused. This results to voids formed inside the hearing device shell, which voids contradicts efforts made in the recent years in hearing device technology in order to minimize hearing device sizes.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method of mounting at least one hearing device component inside a hearing device shell omitting disadvantages in the prior art. It is further object of the present invention to propose a hearing device comprising a hearing device shell and at least one hearing device component mounted inside said hearing device shell according to the inventive method.